


Lost in the Museum

by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Actor Dean, Castiel Has A Daughter, Chaperones, Dean Has a Daughter, Fatherhood, Field Trip, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Gay Male Character, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, Prompt Fic, Writer Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-18 00:43:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7292659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on this prompt:  We're parents chaperoning on the class field trip to a huge museum and somehow we get separated from the group</p>
<p>Basically Dean and Cas are chaperoning their daughters' third grade class and they get separated from the rest of their group.  It's cute, it's fluffy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost in the Museum

**Author's Note:**

> So yes, I found another prompt, lol. I do hope you find this one enjoyable.

[  
](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1466795910.jpg)[](http://www.pizap.com/u/707476471) on [piZap.com](http://www.pizap.com)

“Dad, we hafta hurry or we’re gonna be late!” Maggie whined.

“Let me finish tying my boots!” Dean growled.

“You’re so slooooow!” 

Dean pulled the last loop through on his boot and set his foot down hard on the floor.

“We are not going to be late, so knock it off. You’re not going to miss your field trip.” He started for the kitchen to pour his coffee into his thermos for the drive. Usually Maggie took the bus to school, but today he was driving her because he was one of the chaperones for her field trip.

“Not for the field trip, dad. You promised me donuts!” She crossed her arms and stomped her foot angrily when he took his sweet time filling his thermos.

“With that attitude I won’t be taking you anywhere. Lose the ’tude, my dear, and lose it real quick,” he warned as he screwed the lid on. Her hands dropped to her side, and she looked up at him with puppy dog eyes that rivaled the ones his brother had used on him at that age.

“Sorry, Daddy,” she said softly.

He flicked the switch on the coffee pot and motioned towards the door. “Go get your coat and bag.”

She turned and ran for the door. By the time he got there she already had her coat on and her bag in hand. She knew better than to smart off again though. Dean slid his own coat on and opened the front door. She shot out the door and down the stairs. He snorted and shook his head. How she was so enthusiastic over donuts and spending the day walking around a museum, he had no idea, but she was. After locking up the house he met her at the car, unlocking it and opening the back door for her.

“Seat belt,” he reminded her.

A minute later they were pulling out of the driveway and heading towards the nearest Dunkin Donuts. He slid easily into the line at the drive thru, humming along to AC/DC playing on the radio. When it was his turn at the speaker he pulled up to it.

“Two strawberry glazed donuts, two Boston cremes, and two of whatever you have that has sprinkles.”

The sprinkled donuts were for when they went later to see Uncle Sam. Maggie loved to bring them to her uncle. Once he had his total, he drove up to the first window to pay. A few minutes later they were on their way to the school, each with a donut in hand. It was only a short drive, and parking was easy to find when he purposely parked at the far end of the parking lot. Maggie might be his baby but his car was an antique, one he rebuilt himself, and she meant almost as much as his little girl did. 

Almost.

Maggie always came first, she always had and always would. He stuffed the last of his second donut in his mouth and grabbed his thermos. His daughter was already out of the car and running over to take his hand.

“Thank you for the donuts.” She smiled up at him, and he was helpless to resist smiling back. 

“You’re welcome, princess. Come on.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were several other parents crammed into the third-grade classroom, and they were lining up along the back of the room and up one side. He wondered if there were going to be enough parents to supervise for this class, until the teacher, Mrs. Hughes, explained that all three of the third-grade classes would be going, and that was over seventy children, so there were other parents waiting in the other classrooms. Suddenly having extra parents plus the three teachers made a lot of sense. Dean could see Maggie sitting at her desk near the middle of the classroom chatting with another girl with long, black hair that was very neatly braided. He wished he knew how to braid Maggie’s hair like that; the kid was always getting it in knots. His eyes drifted around the room, looking at the other parents. With luck Lisa Braeden would not be volunteering for this trip. The woman flirted too much. Mostly he was looking to see just how many fathers had come for this trip. There was a grandfather, from the looks of it, or possibly an older father standing near the door. The man looked to be close to seventy, if he wasn’t already there. As his eyes scanned the room he saw the rest were women. All women. He sighed softly. This was going to be a long day. 

A few minutes later the door opened, and a man entered the room. Dean perked up immediately. Another dad hopefully? The man was approached by Mrs. Hughes and they exchanged a few words as he handed over some papers. Dean crossed his fingers that this was another father and not some school employee. He didn’t mind volunteering for these field trips, but sometimes it was nice to have another guy to talk to. This guy, he screamed “dad” with his oversized trench coat and messy hair. Under the coat he wore jeans and a blue button down shirt. A bit dressier than what Dean was wearing but hey, if the guy had a kid in this class, Dean would take what he could get. He really hoped the guy was nice. The teacher said something to him and the man nodded. Dean wanted to do a fist pump when the man turned towards the parents all lined up, his eyes wandering over all of them before landing on Dean. He almost skipped right over him, but instead he locked on Dean and with polite murmurs of “excuse me” slid past all of the women until he reached him.

“Hello, it’s nice to see another father here this time.” The man offered his hand. “I’m Castiel, or Cas for short. Novak. Bethany is my daughter.”

The name rang a bell. Maggie had mentioned a Bethany once or fifty times. Dean gripped the man’s hand and shook it firmly.

“Name’s Dean Winchester.”

“Oh, you’re Maggie’s father.” Cas smiled wide and yeah, the guy was a looker when he was serious, but now he was downright hot.

“Yes, Maggie is mine.” 

“I almost messed this entire thing up for Beth. I forgot her permission slip and had to race home to grab it. I knew I should have just let my sister do this. I did one of these when Beth was in first grade and it was a monumental mess. The stomach flu was going around and half the kids already didn’t feel good, and we took them to an indoor water park. In winter. You can imagine how well that went.” Cas grimaced and actually turned a little green just from the memory.

“Right, right, I was going to volunteer for that, but Mags got sick the night before and was running a horrible fever. I had to take her to the doctor so she didn’t get to go on that trip. It was really bad though?” Dean asked. 

“They had to drain all the pools,” Cas replied. Dean shuddered.

“Glad I missed that one.”

“They have another field trip in the spring, to the botanical gardens. Will you be volunteering for that?” Cas was looking up at him and Dean became acutely aware of just how blue the man’s eyes were.

“Uh, yeah, if they need extra parents, I’ll be there.”

“Are you and your wife on the PTA by chance?” Cas asked.

“I signed up for it, but I never know when the meetings are. I’m, uh, widowed.” Dean had come to terms a long time ago with his wife’s death, but he knew that it sometimes made other people uncomfortable.

“I do apologize for your loss. It’s not easy being a single parent; I know this myself. I have two children. Bethany and Thomas, or Tommy for short.”

“Divorced?” Dean had a nosy streak. How was this handsome man possibly single? Women must flock to someone this attractive, and the guy seemed nice.

“No, I was never married. I adopted my children.” Cas replied. Dean nodded, accepting the answer and looking out over the desks full of kids.

“Which one’s yours?”

Cas pointed at the girl with the perfect braid. “That’s my daughter.”

Of course he would have the child with the nicest hair. Dean pointed to his own daughter whose ponytail was slowly sliding down the back of her head.

“That’s Maggie.”

“Bethany tells me Maggie is her best friend. Perhaps they’ll be in a group together,” Cas said. He smiled at Dean, making the other man’s heart pick up a bit. Damn, it had been a long time since a simple smile had gotten his engines revving like this. He smiled back, nodding in agreement.

“Would be nice to have another guy to talk to,” he said, leaning closer and dropping his voice so the women didn’t overhear. Cas snorted.

“Exactly what I was thinking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Hughes gave out a list of the rules and the itinerary as she motioned for the kids to hurry and get their coats on. The entire morning speech had taken twenty minutes, tops, but it felt like an eternity for the parents that had to stand and watch.

“Thank God that’s over.” A short woman with long, dark blonde hair standing to Dean’s right said with a roll of her eyes. He chuckled and nodded.

“Yep. It’s time to get the show on the road,” he agreed.

“Hello, Becky,” Cas greeted her.

“Hey, Cas. How’ve you been?” she asked.

“I’m good,” he replied.

“You’re still bringing the cupcakes for the PTA fundraiser, right?” There was something in the tone of her voice that told Dean Cas didn’t have a say in whether he would bring those cupcakes. 

“Yes, I’ll have to find the time to make them.” Cas sounded defeated as he responded. Once the woman’s attention was turned to other parents, Dean leaned closer to Cas and dropped his voice.

“Can’t you just buy some and bring them?”

“No, it’s a bake sale, for homemade goods only. I was stupid to volunteer. She wants me to make two hundred cupcakes!” Cas groaned.

“Wow, why so many?”

“The school’s bake sale does phenomenally well every year, and this year is expected to have an even bigger turn out. I made a hundred last year and they went lightning fast. So this year they want me to make two hundred.” Cas had a scowl on his face that Dean found absolutely adorable.

“Sounds like you got suckered,” Dean joked. Cas’ expression lightened and he smiled.

“I suppose I did, but it is for a good cause. They’re wanting to build new wheelchair ramps, this time outside the gym and outside the English hall. Right now there is only one at the front of the school and if there was a fire, kids in wheelchairs could get left behind.”

“Oh, for that I can bake something too. I make a killer pie.”

“Did you say pie?” Becky was suddenly on them like a hound on a scent. Dean took a step back in surprise and ended up stepping on Cas by accident.

“Uh, yeah, I make pies in just about any flavor you can think of,” he said. Behind him he heard Cas snickering. Something told him he was throwing himself to the wolves.

“Oh! Pies sell so well! Could you make some?” she asked. 

“Depends. How many are we talking?” 

She tapped her chin for a moment. “Well, Debbie Korvost is making some gooseberry pies and a couple of cheesecakes, and I think Lynn Freeman is bringing something called an apple berry pie. We could use other flavors though.”

“How does cherry, pecan, and apple sound?” He thought that seemed like a good variety. Her eyes lit up almost maniacally.

“Oh! Yes! Could you do six of each?”

Dean’s jaw legitimately dropped. “Six?” he squeaked.

“I told you.” Cas whispered behind him.

“They sell so well, and six would be fantastic! And if it’s _you_ making them everyone will be so excited to buy them!” she exclaimed, drawing the attention of other parents and students alike. It was making Dean a bit uncomfortable having all of these women suddenly eyeing him. Maggie walked over to her father but was eyeing Becky curiously.

“I am not sure that I would have the time. I will aim for three of each and _if_ I have time to make more, I will,” he said firmly. Money wasn’t an issue, but he wasn’t committing himself to something on _her_ terms. He was going to do it on his. It seemed to tamp down her enthusiasm a bit when she realized he couldn’t be cowed into doing what she wanted. 

“That would be acceptable. Cas can give you my phone number. They need to be ready by the first week of November,” she said, and then she was gone, talking animatedly to another mom as she fixed the collar on a boy’s coat. Dean assumed that was her son. He turned to look at Cas.

“You did something most are unable to do,” Cas said, the merriment dancing in his eyes and making them sparkle.

“And what is that?” Dean asked as he turned his daughter around and fixed her ponytail.

“You told Becky Rosen what you would be willing to do rather than have her telling you what you will do. I’m impressed,” Cas teased. Dean grinned as he pulled the tie around his daughter’s hair one last time. Maybe now it would stay in.

“Yeah, well, I’m not one to just let others push me around, especially not tiny women that drank too much coffee.”

Cas burst out laughing and even Maggie grinned.

“I suspect she takes it in via IV,” he said as he wiped moisture from his eyes.

Dean held up his thermos. “As opposed to me who simply drinks it like a normal human being.”

“I missed my coffee this morning.” Cas eyed the thermos longingly. Dean handed it over.

“Here, I’ll share.”

Cas’ smile was incredible. “You’re sure? I mean, I don’t have cooties or anything.”

“Ewww, all boys have cooties,” Maggie said, wrinkling her nose.

“Hey, I don’t have cooties,” Dean complained. 

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t, you’re a _dad_.”

“Well so is he, he’s Bethany’s dad.” Dean jerked a thumb in Cas’ direction. Maggie eyed him for a moment.

“How come you don’t look like her?” 

“Margaret Mary Winchester! You don’t ask questions like that!” Dean chastised. Immediately his daughter’s face fell.

“Sorry, Dad.”

“No, it’s ok. The reason Bethany and I do not look alike is because she’s adopted. I chose her to be my daughter. I traveled very far away to get her and bring her home. Do you know where Guatemala is?” Cas asked. Maggie thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“It’s in Central America, past Mexico. There’s a place there where babies without moms and dads wait for someone to want them and take them home to be their children. I knew Bethany was meant to be mine, and I love her just as much as if she were my own flesh and blood,” Cas explained. He smiled as his own daughter walked over. “Hi, honey. Do you have everything you need?”

“Yep. I have everything.” She patted a small purse that was slung over her shoulder and smiled up at him before looking up at Dean.

“You’re Maggie’s dad?”

“I am.” Dean nodded. “And you must be the infamous Bethany that she talks about all the time. The little girl broke out into a grin and looked over at Maggie for a moment before looking at him again.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She offered her hand and Dean had to admit, he was impressed with her manners. He shook her hand and nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you as well.”

“Ok, time to get on the buses!” Mrs. Hughes called out. Dean and Cas fell in step beside one another with their children in front of them, walking out of the classroom and then out of the building.

“Have you been to this particular museum before?” Cas asked.

“Yes, but not since Maggie was still in diapers. My friend dragged her girlfriend, me, my brother, his girlfriend, and Maggie down there and we spent the day walking around. I think Mags was maybe one at the time? I hope they have some new exhibits,” Dean replied.

“I went in high school for a field trip, but that’s the last time I was there, so it’s been a minute,” Cas chuckled.

“You went to school in the area?” Dean was intrigued.

“I did. I went to Roosevelt.”

“I went to Harrison. We played against you guys all the time,” Dean said.

“That may be true, but I wasn’t on any sports teams. I did, however, attend the games.” Cas had to nudge the girls to keep them moving in the direction of one of the three buses that were waiting.

“I played football all four years. You probably saw me playing, and maybe my brother. Sorry, I don’t even know what year you graduated.” Dean stepped back to allow Cas up onto the bus first. He followed and they walked the girls to the back of the bus. Maggie sat down and Bethany immediately sat down next to her. Cas turned to Dean and shrugged.

“I guess we’re sitting together.”

Dean grinned. “I’m ok with that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So I graduated in ’92, What about you?” Cas asked as they sat in the seats directly across the aisle from their daughters. Dean was sitting next to the window, but he angled his body towards the other man. 

“Oh, then you wouldn’t have seen my brother play. I graduated in ’96. I was a freshman when you were a senior. You probably didn’t see me play.”

“Oh, but I most likely did. My brother was on the freshman team in ’92. Bart Novak. My brother Gabe graduated two years before me, Bart graduated in ’96 and my sister Anna graduated in ’98. I also have two older siblings. Mike graduated in ’86 and my sister Naomi graduated in ’82.”

“Big family, eh? It’s me, my brother, and a cousin I grew up with as my sister. Sammy graduated in 2000 and Joanna, or Jo for short, graduated three years later,” Dean said.

“So I probably saw you play. Course that was ages ago, so don’t ask me to remember names,” Cas laughed.

“I don’t remember a Bart Novak, so don’t feel bad.” Dean didn’t remember anyone from any teams he played against.

“So you stayed in the area after high school?” Cas asked.

“No, actually. I followed Sam out to California when he started at Stanford. I’d already graduated from KSU and was looking for a fresh start. I wasn’t…” Dean rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. “Sure about my orientation, but I’d heard the people in California were more laid back and accepting, so I went out there, got a job, and I did really well. I actually...” Dean cocked an eyebrow at the other man. “You don’t recognize me?”

Cas frowned as he studied Dean’s face, as though trying to place it. “Have we met before?”

“No, no we haven’t. Wow, it’s been awhile since I met someone that didn’t recognize me. I’m an actor. I’ve been in roughly a dozen or so movies, did some TV work, modeling. Any of that ringing a bell?”

Cas looked thoughtful for a moment before suddenly gasping, his eyes growing wide. “Wait, hold up a moment. I don’t watch very much television, nor do I watch many movies, but are you _that_ Dean Winchester? From the Gentleman Spy movies?” Cas looked a little shell shocked. Dean chuckled.

“Yes, that would be me.”

“Holy crap!” Cas gasped, his jaw dropping. A mother nearby shushed him, and he snapped his mouth shut. “Sorry!”

“It’s cool.”

“What the heck are you doing back here? This isn’t exactly Hollywood.” Cas was curious. People didn’t usually choose the corn fields of Kansas over the lights and fame of Hollywood.

“You don’t watch TV or read the tabloids, do you?” Dean asked. He smiled at the other man. It wasn’t often he met someone that didn’t think they already knew all about his life.

“I have enough on my plate, and most of the programs on television and the stories in magazines and on the news are so blown out of proportion that I deliberately avoid them,” Cas replied. Dean grinned. 

“Smart man. Anyway, so what I did when I followed my brother out to California is I got into modeling. Modeling led to acting. I was on a soap opera for a few years, did a bunch of movies, and by then I knew I was gay,” Dean frowned. “You’re not homophobic, are you?”

Cas scoffed as he shook his head. “No, Dean. _I’m_ gay.”

Dean relaxed again and smiled. “Oh.” Well, that was certainly interesting to know. “So my agent didn’t want me to come out. I wasn’t exactly ready to anyway. He wanted me to date an actress to maintain my straight persona, so I didn’t lose out on jobs since my career was booming. I started dating Sheila.”

“So how is that you don’t have women crawling all over you? I’m sure it’s no secret that you’re a celebrity.” Cas was curious about that. “Granted I didn’t even know that you lived here in state, let alone here in town.”

“Right before Mags was ready to start school I came to the school board and told them I wanted to enroll my daughter, but I didn’t want her education harmed because of who her father is, so they held a meeting and I was allowed to meet all of the teachers that work here ahead of time, and some of the other parents as well. Sure, there was some fanfare in the beginning but now that it’s been a few years since I made a movie, it sort of tapered off. Most of the parents know who I am and after all this time they’re sort of unimpressed because I’m really just a normal guy, and the single mothers figured it out pretty quickly that I wasn’t going to suddenly romance them and sweep them off to Hollywood. I live with my daughter in a house close to my parents; I bake, grow flowers, and occasionally I head back to do some TV work, but I had put off making more movies or taking a recurring television role until Maggie was older. I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could while she was still little,” Dean explained.

“I admire that. It’s not easy raising a child alone. I have Bethany, but I also have Tommy, who is three. I just adopted him last year, and it took a while for him to adjust but he’s doing so well now, thriving and attending preschool. He’s a bundle of energy though and runs me ragged.” Cas sighed and rolled his eyes. “He’s a big part of why I forgot the permission slip this morning. He hid his shoes, and I couldn’t find them anywhere. By the time I did, I was running so late that grabbing the paper off the kitchen table was completely gone from my head. I had to run back for it because Mrs. Hughes didn’t have another one to give me. Otherwise I’d have signed a new one right there.”

“I have a hard enough time with Maggie. I’d like more kids but…” Dean sighed and looked down at his hands, which were in his lap. “Yeah, not getting married to another woman just to have another kid.”

“If I remember hearing correctly, you married Sheila Hannigan, is that right?” Cas asked. Dean nodded.

“Yeah, my co-star on the last movie. It was to boost both of our careers since we were both gay.” 

“Wait, Sheila? Really?” Cas was surprised by that. She’d been a popular actress with a long list of boyfriends before she’d dated Dean. Even people who didn’t watch movies had heard of Sheila’s escapades and romantic life.

Dean chuckled and nodded. “You’d be surprised by how many people are in the closet, and not because they want to be.”

“So you married her? Publicity?” Cas wondered.

“Yes and no. We loved one another, but as friends. She was my best friend. We were pushed to produce a kid though. I always wanted kids, she didn’t. She wanted to focus on her career, but her agent insisted, just like mine did, so we figured why not at least try? She got pregnant the first try with Maggie. If you follow the tabloids they’ll say Sheila was doing drugs and drinking, partying while she was pregnant, but it was lies. She was at home with ankles so swollen she couldn’t walk, she developed gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. I stayed home to take care of her, and we had hired a nurse. Sheila was too sick to leave the house, let alone go out and party. She was never one to do that anyway. When she went into labor there were complications from the preeclampsia, and she went into cardiac arrest during the delivery. They were unable to revive her.” Dean missed Sheila every single day. She had been his best friend and his most staunch supporter.

“I’m sorry.” Cas felt awful hearing Dean’s story. He looked over at the girls as they talked and giggled. Maggie did look like her mother. While Cas didn’t watch much television or see many movies, he still knew names of celebrities, and his sister loved to read the tabloid gossip and tell him all about it. After hearing Dean’s story, he knew he would be telling Anna not to read that trash anymore. He looked back at Dean again.

“Are you out now? I won’t tell anyone if you’re not.”

“Oh, no, after Sheila’s death I came out. There were rumors swirling around that I had cheated on her. I hadn’t. And that she had cheated on me. She technically hadn’t because I knew about her lover, and approved of her having a sex life since we weren’t interested in each other like that, but they tried to blow it out of proportion. I put every single rumor to rest. My brother’s a lawyer had let it be known that anyone that tried to make false accusations or lie about me or Sheila would be served with a slander lawsuit. Suddenly the news was exploding with stories about precious little Margaret and how hard it must be for me to raise her alone. Screw that, I came home to my parents and got all the help I needed. The media grew bored, but still once in awhile they’ll pop up. They’re a nuisance, but I deal with it,” Dean said. He looked over at Cas. 

“What do you do?”

“I am a writer, actually. But I do it under a pen name so I can maintain my privacy. It’s doubtful most people would know what I write anyway. As far as the PTA knows, I run a successful parenting blog, and I do, but I also write gay erotic fiction.” Cas kept his voice low as he said that. Becky was sitting with her son right in front of the girls and he did _not_ want that woman hearing him.

“Really? Well aren’t you intriguing?” Dean teased. “What’s your pen name?”

Cas’ cheeks were tinged red as he fiddled with sleeve of his coat. “C. Millan.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “No sh-” He caught himself, looking around to be sure no one else heard him before dropping his voice to a whisper. “Really? That’s you? You’re, like, fantastic!”

Cas looked up again, his expression one of amusement despite the blush that spread across his cheeks.

“Fantastic? I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I disagree. I’ve read the last three books you put out and they were all amazing. Course I read them _after_ Maggie is in bed,” Dean chuckled.

“Yes, well, please don’t tell the other parents. A few have issues with the fact that I’m gay. I don’t need them banning me from the PTA or other functions because they feel I’m a bad influence.” 

“Your secret is safe with me,” Dean promised. 

By that point the buses were pulling into the museum parking lot, and their attention was once again focused on their kids. Once everyone was off the bus, Mrs. Hughes and another teacher began giving instructions, telling everyone to head directly inside and wait in the lobby for the groups to be divided. Dean took Maggie by the hand and Cas did the same with his daughter as they fell in behind the rest of the class. Once they were inside, kids began gravitating towards their friends. Dean was relieved to see Becky’s son head for a group of boys across the room. Three other kids had wandered over though, and that brought two more mothers. Dean was seeing just how many kids there were now, but there were really a lot of parents, too. At least twenty five, possibly more. Why did they need so many chaperones? They could have declined the offer to several. A museum tour guide was looking over the crowd, most likely doing a head count when she spotted Dean. Her eyes widened as she did a double take. When she gasped, he knew she’d be begging for an autograph very soon. Another museum employee said something to her, and then she was whispering back excitedly. Two sets of excited eyes were now watching him.

“Uh, oh, fans,” Cas teased as he nudged Dean. Dean smiled as he looked at the man.

“Comes with the territory. And to think, I did this to pay off my student loans.” 

“Does it bother you when people ask for your autograph?” Cas asked him.

“Nah, not really, unless I’m doing something really special with my daughter, like once, when she was three I took her to Build a Bear to celebrate her birthday, and some girls swarmed us and wouldn’t leave us alone. I couldn’t focus on my daughter, and she ended up in tears when they started pulling out cameras and taking pics. I snapped, because I don’t let strangers take pics of my kid without my explicit permission. Thankfully my brother and his wife were there, along with my mom. My brother threatened them with a lawsuit if they didn’t delete all the pictures that showed Maggie’s face. I signed their autographs, but my daughter’s birthday was ruined.”

“That’s awful. Does that happen a lot?”

“Not as much now since I haven’t made any new movies lately,” Dean replied.

As they were divided into groups, Dean was glad Cas remained in his group, along with Bethany. He spotted Lisa Braeden with another group. So she had come. She noticed him, and suddenly she was giving her flirtiest smile.

“Does she know she’s not your type?” Cas asked as they herded their kids into the actual museum.

“Oh, she knows. She’s one of those that thinks she can change my mind.” Dean reached out to tighten Maggie’s ponytail again before letting her catch up to Bethany. “But trust me, if Sheila couldn’t change it, neither can she.”

Cas found Dean quite amusing, aside from being incredibly handsome. And the man was quite personable for a famous actor. He hadn’t expected that. As they followed their guide farther into the museum, the conversation turned into stories about the things their kids had done as babies, and the other parent, she introduced herself as Sadie Kitz, joined in. The guide droned on about the different exhibits while the parents hung back just a bit and chatted quietly. Sadie knew Dean and knew who he was, but she was respectful and polite. He had chaperoned other trips with her, and he liked the woman. By the time lunch rolled around, Maggie’s pony tail had slipped out. She walked up to her father with the little elastic band hanging from the tip of one finger. He groaned as he took it.

“May I? If I braid it, it will stay in longer.” Cas held out his hand, and Dean gave him the the hair tie.

“I was admiring Bethany’s hair before I found out she was yours. I wish I could do that to Maggie’s. Maybe then she wouldn’t have so many knots.” 

“I practiced on my sister as a kid so I knew what I was doing by the time Bethany came into my life. It’s really not hard. Watch.” 

Cas took enough time to demonstrate how he made the French braid, but not so much time that the kids would miss out on eating. When he finished, he secured the end with the hair tie.

“Thank you, Mr. Novak!” Maggie said before hurrying to get in line for food. Dean and Cas followed to grab their food and soon found the table where their group was sitting. 

“Dad, this museum is so cool! They have horse embryos! I can see how a horse develops!” Bethany exclaimed as her father sat down beside her.

“Oh? I don’t remember that being here when I came here years back. Is it the entire full term?” he asked. She nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes! Embryos all the way up into fetuses!”

“I want to be a vet someday. I can’t wait to see that.” Maggie was just as excited as he friend. Dean grimaced slightly as he munched on his burger.

“You alright, Dean?” Cas asked.

“I saw it the last time I was here. It’s...gross.”

Cas grinned at the other man. “No doubt, but you know kids, they like gross things.”

Dean gave a little half nod in acknowledgement. “It’s still gross.”

Cas just smiled and took another bite of his salad. Dean was an adorable grump.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh. This is…” Cas looked at each stage of development carefully, “Both disturbing and fascinating.”

Dean cocked one eyebrow and looked again at the full-term fetus encased in resin that was in front of him. Each stage of development was in its own case, numbered accordingly, and lining all four walls of the room. Ok, so maybe it was a bit interesting. It was still gross though.

“Look at how the hooves develop.” Cas leaned closer, pointing to a six-month fetus. Dean walked over to see what he was talking about.

“They look soft, malleable really,” Dean murmured.

“And you’d be right, they would be. Look at how thin the legs are,” Cas pointed out the spindly legs.

“And no hair. Hmm. I see it starting later though.” Dean motioned towards the cases farther on.

“Much like a human fetus,” Cas said. Dean nodded.

“I still think it’s kind of gross, but I can see how it is interesting too.” 

Cas smiled at him, and Dean felt his stomach do a flip. Shit, did he actually _like_ Cas in that way?

“I will admit, it is rather morbid, but it’s very educational for future veterinarians, like your daughter. She will likely come across many stillborn creatures in her time as a vet. If she could not handle looking at these,” Cas motioned with a wave of his hand to all the other cases, “then perhaps veterinary medicine would not be the right choice for her, but she was raving about it before, so I think she definitely has a future in medicine.”

“She has a rabbit named Winnie, this fluffy lionhead she absolutely adores. When we take Winnie in for her regular checkups, Maggie talks the doctor’s ear off, except she’s educating _him_ on proper rabbit husbandry. On Winnie’s last checkup Maggie got into an in-depth discussion with the vet about rabbit poop and how she had potty trained Winnie. From there they discussed training, and well, the vet was rather impressed that my daughter had leash trained the rabbit. She takes the darn thing on walks all the time,” Dean told him. 

“She walks a rabbit? You can do that?” Cas had never heard of such a thing.

“You sure can. Winnie loves to go for walks, munch on dandelions, eat grass, and hop around like a little maniac. We just have to be careful of dogs and cats.” 

Cas shook his head in amazement. “My daughter has a guinea pig named Darla. Fat little thing, but she knows her name and comes when she’s called.”

“They’re smart too. Bet she could train Darla if she put her mind to it.” Dean stood up and looked around the room. “Shit!”

“Dean! Language!” Cas whispered, but then he was looking around too. “Shit!”

Dean shot him a look of reproach before heading for the door. Their group was gone. He stepped into the hall but there was no sign of their kids, the guide, or Sadie.

“They’re gone. We have to go find them.” 

Cas stepped into the hall and looked around. Coming towards them was Lisa’s group. Dean nodded to the left.

“Let’s go that way.” Cas nodded and followed.

This end of the museum was a series of rooms, each one a different exhibit, but none held their group. It also didn’t take them long to realize they were lost. That dawned on them the third time they passed the Egyptian exhibit.

“Dean, we’re lost. I think we should find an employee and make our way back to the front. It’s nearly time to leave anyway. If we’re not on time, they’ll leave without us.” Cas was looking around for someone, anyone that worked there, but the hall was empty. He spotted a staircase and went to try the door. It opened so he motioned for Dean to follow. 

“Do you think they even realized we were missing?” Dean asked as they went down one flight to the main floor.

“I hope so. Bethany should notice me missing and point it out to Mrs. Hughes,” Cas replied as they reached the first level. He opened the door and they stepped into an unfamiliar hall. “Um, did we look at any of this?” 

“No, I’d remember this. We must have bypassed it for the sake of time management. So which way do we go?” Dean spotted another hall they could head down, but he was sort of hoping they’d find a map to show them the way back to the main lobby first.

“I have no bearings right now. I’m completely turned around,” Cas admitted. He saw the hall Dean had noticed, but there was another one off to the left. “Maybe we should try that way?”

Together they started down the hall. 

“Well, I have to say, I didn’t think it would be us getting separated from the group. I was positive someone would lose a kid,” Dean quipped. Cas laughed.

“Yeah, me too. Guessing we’re not the responsible adults we thought we were.” 

“I bet if we had gone down the hall Lisa’s group was coming up, we’ve have found our way back to the stairs we first came up.” Dean hated admitting that but at least if he had to be lost, he was in good company. 

“I think you’re right,” Cas agreed. He stopped and pointed at a room to Dean’s right. “I think we were in there earlier.”

Dean went to investigate. “I think you’re right.” He looked around and spotted the hallway they had come up to get to that room. He touched Cas’ elbow to get him to follow. The hall was confusing though and soon they were lost again.

“Why is this place so freaking big?” Dean’s teeth were gritted in frustration. It was almost two. They had to be back in the lobby by two. “And where are the damn people that work here?! I haven’t seen a single employee in the last forty minutes!”

Cas moved closer and reached out to touch Dean’s arm. “It’s ok, we’ll find our way out. Look, there are exit signs. How about we just follow the ones that say exit? Eventually something has to lead us to an exterior door, right?”

Dean spotted the exit sign Cas was referring to.

“Cas, you’re a genius. I could kiss you right now.” Dean was upset they hadn’t thought of that earlier, but was glad they could now find their way out.

“Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to that.” 

Dean’s head snapped around at the cheeky tone to the man’s voice.

“What?” He grinned at the way Cas averted his gaze as he folded his trench coat over his hands. He’d been carrying the bloody thing around with him the entire day.

“Well, I do find your company quite pleasant. I’ve found this to be the most enjoyable time I’ve spent with another adult in the last...geez, _year_. It’s nice to talk with another parent but not have the kids be the only thing we talk about. And it doesn’t hurt that you’re very handsome, either.” 

Dean laughed. He hadn’t shaved or even bothered to style his hair that morning, and Cas thought he was handsome? 

“You’re not saying that-”

“No, Dean, I am not saying that because you’re an actor that has made a couple of movies. It’s a profession, just like any other, except yours puts you in the spotlight as most careers do not. Even if you were the mailman I would find you attractive. It’s more than your looks. You’ve made me smile more in one day than I have in the last month. I like that. I...like you.” Cas blushed harder as he admitted that.

“Well, damn good thing because I thought you were hot the moment you walked in that classroom this morning,” Dean said. “But I didn’t think you were interested.”

Cas looked up in surprise. “Seriously? I just didn’t want to give you the wrong impression. I’m not a gold digger, I promise. I’m quite wealthy in my own right, and I’m not looking for fame. I like the quiet fame I already have.”

The hall was still empty so Dean wasn’t afraid he’d scar any children for life as he wrapped an arm around Cas’ waist and pulled him close.

“Never saw you like that, Cas,” he said before kissing him. A soft moan escaped the other man before he was kissing back, one arm snaking around Dean’s neck and tangling his fingers in the slightly too long hair on the back of Dean’s head. He tilted his head slightly, giving Dean a better angle and he smiled as Dean pulled him even closer. 

“Can I take you out sometime, Cas?” Dean asked when they finally came up for air.

“I would love that, Dean. How would you like to join me for dinner this Friday? I know a lovely little French restaurant.” Cas still had his arm around Dean’s neck and was playing with his hair. Dean liked it.

“Sounds good. Give me your phone number, and we’ll make plans. I need to ask my parents if Maggie can stay the weekend. They’ll whine if I say I only need them to watch her Friday.” 

“I need to ask my sister the same thing,” Cas said. He stepped back, but Dean caught his hand. They smiled at one another as they walked towards the door marked exit. This was a better day than either of them had planned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they reached the lobby, all the groups had returned. Maggie and Bethany spotted their fathers and ran to them.

“Where were you? We couldn’t find you anywhere!” Maggie cried as Dean scooped her up.

“Well, you left us still looking at the horse fetuses. We didn’t even know how long you had been gone and when we went looking for you, we couldn’t find you. Then we got turned around, but we found our way out, as you can see,” he explained. When looked over he saw Cas explaining the same thing to Bethany.

“Hey, would you be ok if I went on a date?” he asked his daughter softly. Maggie’s eyes widened. 

“A date? With who?” Suddenly it clicked, and a sly smile formed on her lips. “With Bethany’s dad?”

Dean laughed softly nodding at her. “Yeah, I kind of like him. He likes me too.”

Maggie threw her arms loosely around his neck. “Well, yeah. You don’t date anymore, and I want you to be happy. He’s nice, and then Bethany and me, we can play together more. Are you gonna marry him?”

“Geez, kid, can I take him on a date first?” he laughed.

“I want a purple dress if I’m gonna be in a wedding,” she teased. He tickled her as they made their way to the main group.

“You’re an evil kid,” he joked. She giggled and poked him in the chest.

“I learned it from you.”

“Nah, you get that from your Uncle Sam.”

She giggled even more. “Nope! It’s all you, Dad.”

Dean looked over at Cas as they followed their group back to buses. Cas smiled again, making his heart flutter. Yeah, he was pretty sure that he and Cas were going to get along just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> The whole time I wrote this, I kept thinking of the Field Museum in Chicago, lol. It's my favorite museum, and seriously, you could walk around for hours and unless you come out into a common area, you're never going to see an employee. And that's fine by me. I don't want to be bugged every five minutes by someone asking me "Are you enjoying your time? Do you like the exhibits?" If I didn't like them, I wouldn't BE there. But the museum I pictured here would probably be more like the Museum of Science and Industry, which is like, twice the size of the Field. Field is a natural history museum. the S & I is enormous and easy to get lost in, and during the weekdays when field trips are in session, very, very quiet. At least it was the last few times I went! Depends on the time of year. ;)
> 
> And before you gripe that Dean was being petty or something because he was hoping for another dad, speaking as a mother, when we have to supervise stuff like this, you look for someone you might actually have something in common with. For a dad, that's generally other dads. For a mom, we tend to migrate towards other mothers we get along with or think we can have some things in common. It makes spending six hours walking around a museum bearable.
> 
> And yes, the Gentleman Spy movies are a nod to James Bond because seriously, we all know how hot Jensen/Dean is in a tux.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this story. Comments are always welcome.


End file.
